WHITTIER — A judge Wednesday ordered three alleged gang members to stand trial for the drive-by shooting death of a 17-year-old Pico Rivera boy last year.
After listening to a summary of the evidence Tuesday and Wednesday in the Nov. 1, 2010 slaying of Robert Velazquez, Whittier Superior Court Commissioner Loren DiFrank ordered a trial for Enrique Medina, 32, of Pomona, his step-brother Michael Barrios, 29, of Pomona and Thomas Arellanes, 27, of El Monte. They are alleged members of the Pico Rivera street gang known as Brown Authority.
Velazquez had no gang ties, authorities said, and was likely targeted because he was in an area claimed as turf by the Pico Viejo street gang, which Brown Authority considers a rival, officials said.
The defendants are each charged with Velazquez’s murder, along with the attempted murder of his then-17-year-old friend Ruth Rodriguez, who was present during the attack but not injured. All three are additionally accused of committing the crime in connection with a criminal street gang, and Medina is accused of personally firing the gun that killed Velazquez.
Robert Velazquez’s father, Jose Velazquez, said he was confident in the case presented by Deputy District Attorney Brock Lunsford.
“It’s going great,” he said of the proceedings. “I’m happy that it’s going to (trial). I want to see justice. That’s all I want.”
During the hearing Wednesday, Rodriguez gave emotional testimony about the shooting.
She and Robert Velazquez were talking near her home when an SUV approached and, “pulled right in front of us,” Rodriguez said.
“It stopped, and they started shooting at us,” she testified.
The assailants first shot out the street’s lone street light before unleashing a volley of bullets toward Robert Velazquez and Rodriguez, according to testimony.
Once the shooting came to an end and the SUV drove off, Rodriguez said she realized her friend had been wounded.
“I was yelling his name and he was just making weird noises,” she said as she dabbed her eyes with tissues.
“He was my best friend,” she added. Officials have previously incorrectly described Rodriguez and Robert Velazquez as boyfriend and girlfriend
Medina’s attorney, Anthony Arzili, questioned Rodriguez regarding how well she could see what was happening on the very dark street.
Arzili also pointed questioned Rodriguez about differences in what she told investigators immediately after the incident, and what she recalled Wednesday in court.
Barrios was being represented by attorney Michael Shapiro, and Arellanes was being represented by attorney John McDonald.
The prosecution called several police and crime scene investigators to testify about physical evidence linking Medina, Barrios and Arellanes to the slaying.
Nine spent .45-caliber bullet casing were found at the scene of the shooting in the 11000 block of Zola Avenue in Pico Rivera, sheriff’s forensic firearms examiner David Kim testified.
A 10th round was found in on the floor of Barrios’ Chevrolet Blazer when it was stopped by police at a Pomona has station the day after Velazquez’s death, Detective Ken Perry of the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau said. The nine fired bullet casings found at the scene, along with the unfired round found in the SUV, had all come from the same gun, Kim testified.
Though Barrios was arrested with his SUV, attorneys for Medina and Arellanes revealed through cross examination that their clients were not in the SUV when it was stopped Nov. 2, 2010.
Sheriff’s senior criminalist Kristina Fritz took the stand to report she had found gunshot residue on Barrios’ hands, inside the SUV, on a a sweat shirt taken from Medina at the time of his arrest, and on other items of clothing, including bandanas and a ski cap recovered from the Pomona home Medina and Barrios shared.
DNA evidence also connected the clothing items to the suspects, sheriff’s senior criminalist Leslie Thompson testified.
The defense attorneys attacked the validity of gunshot residue testing in general, pointing out through cross examination that gunshot residue can easily be transferred between people and that other forms of residue can be confused with gunshot residue.
Detectives seized the cell phones of the three suspects upon their arrest, Detective Wayne Holston of the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau said.
Investigators found the three men had exchanged text messages and calls in the early morning hours of Nov. 2, 2010.
One message Barrios sent to his co-defendants told them to “get out,” Holston said.
Medina, Barrios and Arellanes were ordered to appear in Norwalk Superior Court Dec. 28 for an arraignment.